K2 to Move Some Manufacturing to Corona

K2 Inc. said it will move half of its ski and snowboard manufacturing from Seattle to Southern California and China and will have suppliers make its bike products to cut costs. The Los Angeles-based sporting goods company will make only high-end skis in Seattle after the move of production to plants it owns in Corona and China by year-end. The Corona plant, which K2 acquired with its recent purchase of Ride Inc., will house manufacturing of mid- to high-end snowboards. K2 will take a fourth-quarter, after-tax charge of $6.5 million, or 36 cents a share, to cover the move, which it expects to result in savings of $4 million next year and more in coming years. The company said about half of the Seattle operation’s 4,000 workers will be affected, but it wouldn’t say how many would be fired. K2 closed up 6 cents at $8.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.